Twisted
by lesmisgirl
Summary: What if the story you thought you knew was wrong, written by Van Helsing to cover the true, grislier tale? And what if everything was coming to light, 116 years in the future when Mina meets her new and strangely familiar neighbor... Things are about to get twisted.
1. Chapter 1

"He won't forgive this." Jonathan Harker breathed. He held his lantern higher, looking over his shoulder as though the beast himself were behind him.

Van Helsing hunched over his desk, a quill quivering in his hand. "Never. He'll never..." He swallowed. "I am so sorry about Mina, John. About-"

"She doesn't matter anymore," Jonathan snapped. He watched the professor's shadow on the wall and listened to the noises of the outside. He heard no wolf's howl. No sign he was near. "But this man... This thing corrupted her. He ruined her. He killed Lucy, Quincey...John..."

"And so we killed his lover," Van Helsing said plainly.

Jonathan faugh the urge to yell, "She was mad. He had ruined her. She wasn't our Mina."

Van Helsing didn't look up and said no more on the subject. Instead, he began to write. "We'll changed the story. You can fabricate your part of it and I'll mine. Make it a new tale. A better one. Make him hated and feared. Eventually, everyone will forget this ordeal. It'll be but a story too fantastical to believe."

"What?"

Van Helsing finally looked up, his eyes deep and unfocused, "Let's change the story, Harker. Let's make him a villain."

**116 YEARS LATER**  
"That smells good. What are you making?" Asked Mina Murray to her mother. Smells traveled quickly in the tiny apartment and Mina could smell the baking from her bedroom.

Her mother, who had the same blond hair and blue eyes as her daughter, smile as she pulled out the cookie sheet from the oven.

"Chocolate chip cookies," Ms. Murray said, setting the tray out to cool. "They're not for us. They're for the new neighbor."

"Oh!" Mina perked up. There'd been rumors of a new neighbor coming into the building for weeks. He was going to be moving into the upstairs suite that had been empty for as long as Mina could remember. "He's actually here? Who is he?"

"I heard from Mrs. Westerna that he's from New York. A friend of Mr. Reinfield's."

Mina pulled a sour face, "Ugh, if he hangs out with Reinfield I'm not so sure I wanna meet this guy."

Her mother rolled her eyes, "Mr. Reinfield is not that bad. He's just...eccentric."

"Mom, I saw him eat a bug once."

Ms. Murray ignored her. "Anyway, his name is Christopher Drake. And you probably won't see him that much, he travels all the time."

"How does Mrs. Westerna know all this? Did she stalk the guy?" Mina said. Her mother laughed, "I don't know. But I thought it would be nice if you brought up the cookies."

Mina shook her head, "Mom, you know I'm bad at meeting new people. I'll freak him out and then he'll leave."

"Bring Lucy or John if you need moral support. I've got to leave to go to work soon."

Ms. Murray worked at night backstage at a local theatre. Theatre was her first love but it wasn't a lifestyle that really could support her and a child. She worked at an office during the day to meet the bills.

"Fine," Mina said, taking out her phone and texting John. She would've asked Lucy, but Lucy wasn't too good in social situations either. She'd just make Mina even more nervous when meeting this Christopher guy.

John was much more outgoing than his sister, Lucy, and very good at talking to anyone. Mina just hoped he didn't have any plans with his boyfriend, Jack. John had been spending inordinate amounts of time with him of late.

John said he'd be over in just a minute.

Mina began shoveling cookies onto a paper plate, keeping one for herself to eat. She knew her mom just wanted to be welcoming, but Mina hated that she was the one going to greet the new neighbor.

It was going to be awkward. She could feel it.

The Carfax apartment complex was an interesting place to live. It was made originally as a hotel for rich families in the early nineteen hundreds. Because of this, there were suites made for the family and suites made for the servants.

Nowadays, people lived in both. Mina and her mom lived in a small, previously servants quarters apartment while Lucy and John's family lived in a grand suite built for a Crawley-esque family.

But the biggest suite was the Carfax suite, built for the owner himself. No one had lived in it for years.

Well, no one until this Mr. Drake.

"Okay, if he's not here I vote we eat the cookies ourselves," said John as they got into the elevator.

"Way ahead of you."

The _ding! _announced their arrival to the top floor and Mina suddenly realized that she had never been to the top floor. There had never been a reason to go there.

Spoiler alert: it wasn't anything fancy. Honesty, it looked the same as the rest of the building: stark white walls and tan carpeting. Straight out of the pages of _Boring Interior Design Weekly._

"Hope he's not here. I want to eat those cookies," John nervously joked as they approached the black door with the number 897 embossed on it with gold.

They knocked. No reply.

Mina was actually quite relieved. No need for uncomfortable greetings and awkward small talk. No need to make a new friends she didn't really want in the first place. She and John would just leave and sabe this meeting for another day...

Then the door opened.

The man came into light and Mina felt her heart stop.

"I know you," she said. It took her a moment to realize she'd said it aloud. She felt herself turn red. "Sorry, I didn't know where that came from. You just look very familiar, I guess. I mean, hi. Er..."

Mina had seen this face before. Many times before. But from where, she did not know. But it was embossed into her mind as clearly as Lucy, John, or her mother's face. The pale skin, grey eyes, short black curls and prominent bones. Oh yes, Mina had seen him before.

John raised a brow, "Anyway...if you'll excuse my friend's little awkward outburst, welcome to the building. We live downstairs."

Mina raised the plate, "We have cookies."

The familiar man had the same stunned look that had appeared when he first opened the door. Mina realized that their eyes had been locked since he first stepped into the light.

"Welcome to the building cookies," John said. "We're not Girl Scouts or anything."

The man blinked, "What?"

John shrugged, "Nothing. I's just making jokes to relieve the tension."

"Tension?" Mina said plainly. "What tension?"

John pursed his lips, looking back and forth between the two of them, "I'm missing something, aren't I?"

With a jolt, the man came back to the present and looked away from Mina. "Sorry. Yes, do come in. If you'd like, that is."

Mina swallowed, coming back into the moment. She knew John was giving her quizzical looks but she tried to ignore him. How could she explain something she didn't quite comprehend herself?

They stepped inside and the apartment was more grand than any one Mina had seen before. The walls were different shades of grey, stretching from near white to black. It was very modern, but some old architectural styles could be seen as you walked further inside.

The most breath taking of all was the main room. It was a circle with grand arching windows along the walls. A beautiful crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling reflecting all sorts of colors onto the plain walls.

"We need to be friends with him. This guy is loaded," John whispered to Mina with a smirk. She elbowed him in the side.

The man appeared back in the room, carrying a small silver tray with him. He'd sat cups out on it and a small pitcher of water. Mina felt his eyes on her and he set in down and took a seat. Mina set down the cookies and she and John sat on the couch opposite him.

"I'm Christopher," he said with a crooked smile.

"I'm John," he nodded.

Mina forced a smile, "I'm Mina."

Christopher smiled like there was some joke only he knew, "Of course." He brushed his comment aside and began pouring water. "Sorry, this is all I have. I don't keep much in the way of beverages. I don't like most drinks."

Mina could tell John was fighting back a sarcastic comment.

"Your accent," Mina said, "it's familiar. Where are you from?"

"I lived in Transylvania when I was younger."

John took a cookie, "Transylvania? Like Dracula?"

Mina rolled her eyes, "John..."

Christopher laughed, "Yes, John. Yes, very much like Dracula."

Jonathan shot Mina a look as if to say _This guy is weird_. Mina gave him a _Come on he's not that bad._ John gave her a _You just like him cause he's pretty look_. Mina turned away.

"You're probably busy, so we won't keep you," Mina said with a smile. "But anyway, welcome to the building."

Christopher stood, "Yes, well, please come by again. I haven't met very many people here."

He smiled at Mina and she felt her heart beat quicken.

Christopher extended his hand to John, "Good to meet you."

John looked a bit confused by the gentlemanly gesture, but shook his hand despite it.

He gave Mina that strange smile again, "See you soon, Mina." He took her hand as if to shake it, but brought it up to his lips and kissed it.

_The sheets are red and the pillow is soft. It's very dark and very late and she knew that Jonathan and the Professor would be worrying._

_Mina did not care._

_She saw her love hunch over her, his eyes bright red and his teeth long and sharp._

Mina jerked her hand away, shocked by the graphic vision. Embarrassed and slightly worried that Christopher had seen it too. .

Christopher just smiled as if he'd heard every thought.

...  
"That guy is so into you," John said the moment Christopher shut the door.

Mina's face was still red from the strange vision, "Shut up! He'll hear you!"

John laughed, "Calm down. And seriously, you can't be into him." He lowered his voice, "'I don't keep much in the way of beverages' 'See you soon, _Mina_...' That guy is weird as shit."

"Shut up," Mina said because she couldn't think of a better comeback. Her mind was still reeling from that strange vision. It had popped into her head like it was put there by someone else. Like it was a video someone played for her.

But yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen that before.

She couldn't shake the feeling that if was a memory.

_Her_ memory.

"Professor, this is ridiculous," Jonathan spat, tearing the quill away from Van Helsing. "Why would we waste our time doing something so stupid?"

Van Helsing breathed deeply to control his anger, "We make him into a monster. A character from a story. We make him no more real than Romeo or Pip or Frankenstein's monster."

"But _why_?"

Van Helsing smiled, "Because what power does a fictional character have?"

Jonathan nearly screamed at the old man, "But he's not fictional, professor! He's real! He's out there! He's still alive!"

"If we make him a fake, change our story then everyone will forget him. He'll be alone! Powerless!"

"Why does his loneliness matter?!"

Van Helsing smirked, "Who do you think he got his power from?"

Jonathan thought for a moment, "Your not saying that she did it? That Mina..."

"His familiar. Familiar's blood is so much more powerful than other other blood."

"I don't understand-"

"But you will." Van Helsing promised. "All will make sense very, very soon."


	2. Foolish

Mina knew Jonathan would ask her dance.

It was most dismal, because the last thing Mina wished to do was dance, but him being her fiancé, she didn't have much choice in the matter.

Jonathan was a fine man. Upstanding family and a promising career as a reporter. He was well spoken and always kind. Mina should be content with a man like him.

But she was not and was certain she never would be.

Mina was but nineteen, she wasn't ready to be a wife. She wasn't ready to host parties and tend to her husband and mind the children. Mina felt she knew hardly anything at all. She would sell her soul to go to a college, but alas those were only for men.

_Is this my life now_? She thought as she gazed around the crowd. _Attending parties and trying to look like I don't want to poke out my own eyes?_

"...Has anyone seen him yet?" Lucy's voice brought Mina back to the ballroom at Carfax Manor. The hypnotic swirl of colors of ladies dresses caught her eye as she looked around. It was quite a marvelous place. Much larger than Mina's home, though Mina had never been especially wealthy.

Lucy looked expectantly at her best friend.

"I'm sorry," Mina said. "I was off in thought."

Lucy sighed and smiled a bit, "I was just wondering about our mysterious host. No one seems to have met him. Well, besides Jonathan."

Jonathan, the name echoed ominously in Mina's mind. He'd been gone for a few months to cover news stories in Transylvania, which is where he made the acquaintance of a Count Dracula. Jonathan never spoke much of the trip, claiming it was a whirlwind and he couldn't remember it well. He only spoke kind things of the Count.

Carfax was the Count's home now, at least for the winter. He'd been in London for nearly a fortnight, yet no one seemed to have met him. His large black dog was becoming infamous over town, however. Mina had even spotted it on her yard one night.

"This house is massive," marveled Mina. "I want to go snooping."

Lucy gasped, "Mina! You can't do that!"

Mina giggled, "Why not? It's dull as tombs here and there's no sign of this Count Dracula and I'm beginning to think there's no such thing." She glanced about the room. There were easily two hundred people in attendance. Mina could slip away easily and unnoticed. Most of the guests had had a bit too much champagne anyway and wouldn't remember seeing Mina exploring even if they did .

"Well, you can stay here if you like," Mina told her friend. "I, however, am going to have a quick peak around."

Lucy called after Mina but her friend paid her no heed. Mina knew Lucy was two well bread to disobey the rules.

As she had thought, slipping away from the ballroom was very easy. No one noticed her at all when she began her voyage down one of the manor's long hallways.

There must be at least a hundred rooms, Mina thought as her eyes flitted about. Only a few mounted candles lit her way. She tried a few doors, but most were locked. It was very strange to her that a man who lived alone would need such a large house. But that was the way it was with the rich; if they had money, they were going to show it.

At the end of the hall there were large wooden doors with high arches at the top. Two candles framed the outside like a beacon to enter.

This door was unlocked.

"Mom, have you ever met someone for the first time but swear you've met then before then?"

Mina's mother looked a bit puzzled, but then shrugged and kept packing her purse. "You mean déjà vu?"

Mina shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest, "No, not like that. It's just..."

Her mother clicked her tongue, looking anxiously at the walk clock, "I gotta run, sweetie. I should be back before you go to bed."

Mina rolled her eyes, that's likely.

"Okay," she said. "Have fun at work."

Once her mom had gone, Mina laid back on her bed at slowly drifted off to sleep.

A strange dream played in her mind.

Mina gasped so loud she though for sure someone would hear.

It was a library.

And not just a small one, it was as large as the one in the town center. Maybe even larger. Books were spread all along to far walk and shelves spread in every direction. A small stairwell led to the second level, where a small reading lift was.

It was silly, but Mina almost cried. If was certainly the most beautiful placed she'd ever seen.

"Do you like books?"

Mina screamed and whipped around. Standing behind her was a man. He was rather tall, with very pale skin and greyish eyes. His hair was a mass of short black curls and his cheek bones were so strong you'd probably cut your hand if you tried to slap him. His accent startled her as well.

"I'm so very sorry, sir," Mina said with absolute mortification. She could feel her cheeks growing red. "This was very rude of me. My apologies-"

His laugh surprised her, "Don't be sorry, miss. I'm sorry I didn't come down sooner." Mina opened her mouth but couldn't think of anything to say. He extended a pale hand, "Count Dracula."

Mina could die of embarrassment.

"Oh, sir...er...Count I'm so sorry," Mina thought her face would catch flame. "I shouldn't have been snooping around your house like some common criminal. I'm really not this terrible of a person, I swear. I was just walking and I saw these big doors and I saw all the books and I-"

He laughed again. She liked his laugh; it was like the crackling of a warm fire. The Count took her gloved hand and kissed it.

"You needn't apologize, miss..."

"Mina," she said after a moment. "Mina Murray."

"Miss Murray," he smiled. "I've never been able to resist a library myself. The moment I saw this one I knew I must have this house." His eyes flitted about, "This home is a little large for me, but it's worth it for the library." He looked right at her and she swore he could see her soul. "What do you think of it, Miss Murray ?"

Mina turned from his gaze and looked around the grand library, "It's beautiful."

"Yes," he said, but his incessant gaze made her wonder if he was talking about the library at all.

She walked towards the nearest shelf, "One would have to be immortal to read every book in here."

He laughed at some joke she didn't understand, "I suppose so. I guess I'll have to read a bit faster then. I am growing rather old."

She smiled kindly, "You can't be _that_ old, Count."

"I am 497 years old."

Mina laughed, "Really?" She played along with his folderol. "You don't look a day over 450."

The Count laughed as well, and there was a certain pleasant warmness in his eyes. Mina decided she liked the man.

Her eyes caught a familiar title on the bookshelf, "Oh, I love this one." She pulled out a leather bound copy of _Jane Eyre_. "It's a wonderful book. A love story. A sort of eerie one nonetheless."

"I'll be sure to read it," Count Dracula said. "If you would like to borrow anything, please just tell me."

"Thank you, I'm sure I'll-"

The door swung open, "Mina!" Hissed an exaggerated whisper. It was Lucy. "Your fiancé is getting antsy!" Lucy's eyes grew three sizes when she saw the Count standing their. "Forgive me, sir." She bowed politely. "Mina," Lucy rushed to her friend, "let's not bother him. We should be getting back to the party."

The Count turned a queer shade of green, "She was not bothering me, miss..."

"Westerna," Lucy said awkwardly. "Lucy Westerna." The Count took her hand and kissed it, as he had done with Mina before.

The Count would not meet either of their gazes, "I suppose I should go out to the party as well, being the host and all."

Mina tried a smile, "I hope I could still borrow a book, Count."

"Of course," he muttered quietly.

_I care nothing for Jonathan _she wanted to scream for some reason she wasn't quite sure of.

_Look at me. I care nothing for Jonathan. I promise I do not._

_**I hope that is true. I truly, truly do.**_

Mina nearly screamed.

That voice in her head was most certainly not her's.

There was a grand entrance for the Count and he gave a speech about how wonderful London was and how welcoming everyone had been which everyone knew was a complete lie because no one had been welcoming but everyone still latte themselves on the back and shared a "aren't we such saints?" type of smile.

Count Dracula made his rounds to everyone. He and Jonathan chatted for a bit.

The Count would not chat with Mina.

Not until later when they ended up dancing together.

"I hear your wedding is to be soon," the Count said while the violins played a dry waltz.

Mina nodded, "As soon as Jonathan secures his position at the newspaper. Which he's sure to do because his father owns it."

"He is a good man."

"He is a rich man," Mina corrected. "And a poor girl can't just run around turning down perfectly good marriage proposals from wealthy men. Or so my mother says."

Count Dracula finally met her eyes once more, "Come here tomorrow to the library. Maybe you'll find something you like there."

_**Mina, can you hear me?**_

That voice pervaded her mind again.

A slight smirk on the Count's face made her wonder if the voice was his.

Which was foolish, of course.

Foolish.


	3. An Infirmary

Mina didn't see Christopher for a few days. He must not be a very social man, but Mina sort of thought that maybe she and Jonathan had bothered him and turned him away from ever talking to anyone again.

Which was foolish, but she thought it nonetheless.

She saw his dog quite often though . Mina was pretty sure that you weren't allowed to have pets in the building, but maybe they make exceptions if you're ridiculously wealthy.

It was a sweet thing; black and sort of wolf like. It was very large, but very friendly as well. Freely it roamed the building, but seemed to have made an attachment to her. It would come and greet her often.

It had no tags, but Lucy said that it's name was Victor. She'd overheard Christopher call for it once.

"I had a very strange dream, Lucy," Mina said to her friend after school one day. They were in Lucy's bedroom, which was almost the size of Mina's entire apartment. "A very...weird dream."

Lucy perked up, "Are you having naughty dreams, Mina?"

"Shut up," Mina laughed, whacking her friend's arm. "I keep dreaming about this library. It's very large and old. But...but I feel like I've been there before."

Lucy pursed her lips, "Weird. Maybe it was somewhere you went when you were very little?"

"I don't know," Mina shrugged. "But that isn't the strangest part."

"Oh?"

"I keep seeing Christopher there too."  
**ooo**  
Mina went back to visit the Count the day after the ball. And then the day after that. And the one after that. Her mother said she was being too friendly with him, but Mina said she was simply being a good Christian and welcoming a lonely man to their city. Mina accused her mother of not being Christian woman.

After that, her mother let her go to The Count's as often as she wished.

One day, after talking about her engagement for a bit, Dracula asked her a question.

"Have you told no one else of these qualms you're having?"

Mina thought, "No. Well, my mother wouldn't listen. Jonathan is an amazing match. Better than I deserve, she says. Maybe she's right." She smiled sadly. "And I can't really tell Lucy about it. Jonathan is her brother after all." The Count just nodded slowly and looked back to the book he was reading. Mina sat up, "Enough on me. What about you? Have any of us London women caught your eye? Or is their someone is Transylvania? I feel I know so little of you."

He hesitated, but then shut his book. "There isn't anyone in Transylvania who has any interest in me. I doubt there are many in England...besides you, of course."

Mina blushed, her eyes darting down to her lap, "Lucy was quite taken with you. And she's a very sweet girl."

Dracula shifted in his seat, "Yes, she seemed so."

"But the poor dear has been feeling quite frail lately," Mina said with a sad look. "We've called for a doctor. John Seward is his name. Jonathan knew him from school."

The Count suddenly looked very I'll as well, and Mina wondered if he cared more for Lucy than she thought.

It made her feel bitter, which surprised her.

_Get a hold of yourself, Mina. You are engaged. Why should you care if the Count cares for Lucy? It's not your place to feel jealous_.

"We're sure she'll be better soon," Mina said with a slight smile. She tried desperately to think of a change of thought. "It's rather lovely out today. Sunny for winter." She stood and walked to the shuttered window. He kept them shut always. "You must see it." Mina fussed with the dusty old drapes, does he even keep a maid? She thought. "It's always so dark in here. It'll be good to let some sun in."

His eyes widened suddenly and he stood with a start, "Mina, no!"

But she had already pulled back a shutter.

The sun beam poured through the glass, filling the room with a warm yellow light.

Mina smiled at the dust bits floating in the sun beam, "That's nice, isn't it?"

It was then the Count began howling in pain.

She turned with a start to see him shielding his face with his hands. Hands that were turning red and blistering. Bubbling like red candy.

Mina froze, eyes wide in terror. How very queer. Something was welling up inside of her.

Fear.

"Shut it! Shut it!" His voice sounded inhuman. "Uggghhhhhaaahh, close it now!"

Her eyes watering, Mina turned sharply and with a great push closed the shuttered. She heard him fall with a greasy thud.

Breathing quickly, she ran to him. Mina remembered a time when their chef had split boiling water into herself. They told Mina not to look, but she peeked through the cracks in her fingers. The chefs skin was red and bubbling with steam coming off of it. It gave her nightmares for months.

The Count's skin looked far worse than the chef's ever did.

Mina's eyes glossed, "Oh, sir, I am so sorry. I-I didn't know I'd..." She tried to touch him and he whimpered. "I'm so sorry," she let out a sob. "I can fix it. We'll go to your wash room and set it in some water and-"

"No!" He said very suddenly, uncovering his face. He had a wild look about him, as if he had changed entirely. His face was gaunt and he was pale as death. And his eyes (Mina knew she must've been imagining it) his eyes were Scarlett red.

"No," he backed away from her, as though she were the grotesque one. "That's...that's not how you fix this."

Mina stared blankly, "But that's how to heal a burn. I know, that's what they did when our chef burned herself once and-"

He stared at her incredulously, "How are you not afraid of me?"

Mina was confused, "Why should I be afraid of you?"

"Miss Murray, look at me," he said with a look of distaste. "Do I look human to you?" She looked only at his eyes, his strange red eyes.

_Red like blood_, the strange voice in her head said.

She tried to ignore it.

He raised his mangled hands, "Look at me. This isn't natural, is it, Miss Murray?"

She averted her eyes, "Sir, I don't understand-"

He smirked, "Of course not." He looked at his blistered hands in distaste. "Why do you think this happened?"

Mina was confused and-though she'd never admit it-a bit scared. He was acting so strangely. So aggressive and unlike himself.

Mina pulled into herself, "Perhaps an infirmary or-"

"An infirmary," he laughed like a madman. He noticed the fear growing in her eyes as his scarlet ones narrowed. "Leave."

Mina didn't move, "What?"

He looked up, his face seeming more gaunt and skeleton like and his eyes a fearsome red, "You're not safe here."

Mina felt a chill tip tow down her back, "Not safe from what?"

The Count now seemed wholly inhuman, his face bony and pale with an air of ethereal beauty, "From whom, you mean." He opened his mouth, breathing heavily, "You have to leave now, Miss Mina. You have to get away from me."

"All... All right," she muttered, feeling more fearful by the moment. She stood, backing away but never taking her eyes away from him. "Goodbye, sir."

"Goodbye," his voice hissed like a snake. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

_Really? Could've fooled me_. Mina thought as she lead herself from his home.

The while way home she tried to think of a logical explanation for why the sunlight burned him but none came to mind.

Something else haunted her mind as well.

For when he opened his mouth, she could've sworn she saw fangs.

**ooo**  
2013 was almost at a close and Christopher hadn't had a good drink in weeks.

It was starting to show as well. He was missing his rosy glow. He was beginning to look rather ill.

Perhaps that was why the other tenants didn't speak to him. Or perhaps it was because he made little effort to socialize.

He'd hoped he'd see more of Mina, but she did not visit again. And he wasn't about to follow her around or force her friendship; he wasn't going to scare her. She'd have to remember in her own time. And she would-he was certain.

But now it was night, and Christopher liked the night. He liked being outside with no one but the stars for company.

That night, he had a visitor.

Lucy, of course he remembered Lucy. Who could forget her?

She jumped a bit when she saw him standing near the trees, "Oh God, you scared me!"

"Sorry," he said and she laughed a bit in relief.

"Don't just be standing alone in the dark out here! People'll think you're a crazy person," Lucy smiled at him. She extended a hand, "Lucy Westerna, nice to meet you."

You're quite the same, he thought as he took her hand and smiled. "Hello, I'm-"

"Christopher," she finished. "I know. News travels fast here." Lucy took her hand back and began to dig for something in her bag. "I'm heading out to a party, so I've got to go. Nice finally meeting you."

He smiled politely, "You as well." She nodded and started to walk away.

He then felt the familiar lurch in his stomach.

Hunger. That hunger that haunted him forever.

And Lucy would do nicely. He'd fed from her before, many, many years ago.

"Wait," he called to her. She turned around, raising her eyebrows. He locked eyes with her and she froze.

_Still got it_, he thought to himself.

"Don't go just yet, my dear," he said, walking towards her. She did not move. She could not move.

He leaned in close and sunk his teeth into her neck.


End file.
